About New Zealand, Naturalisations, 1843-1981

This database contains an index of persons who were naturalised or given citizenship in New Zealand from 1843 to 1981. New Zealand citizenship did not begin until 1949, but persons who were not born within the British Commonwealth and applied for naturalisation were given British citizenship prior to 1949.

This index was created from two different sets of records. The first is from the original registers held at the National Archives in Wellington, New Zealand. The second part comes from a microfiche reproduction of Names, etc. of Alien Friends Who Were Naturalised in New Zealand.

Depending on the register, the records may include:

Name of individual

Age or birth date

Birthplace

Place of residence

Former nationality

Naturalisation date

File number

Certificate register

Register page number

Images of the records will not be displayed due to privacy restrictions. Access to the original naturalization files is restricted to 100 years after the birth of the individual or 40 years after the death, whichever is sooner.

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